By Kevin Thomas
SouthernPigskin.com

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Duke is still a contender in the Coastal after knocking off the Yellow Jackets.

1. Duke took two weeks to prepare for Georgia Tech and out Georgia Tech’d the Yellow Jackets racking up 250 yards on the ground and winning the time of possession battle. Senior running back Josh Snead was huge for the Blue Devils on the ground, amassing 102 yards on just 14 carries, which kept the Tech defense guessing all afternoon.

2. Justin Thomas finally played like a first-year starter as he threw two inexcusable interceptions. Thomas has played clutch for the first five weeks of the season, but against the Blue Devils he appeared to be uncomfortable for most of the afternoon. As the Yellow Jackets defense continues to look mediocre, Georgia Tech will only go as far as Justin Thomas will take them. If he struggles Tech will lose, play well and the Yellow Jackets can overcome their defensive shortcomings and win. It will be a big bounce back week for Thomas against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

3. Duke is still a contender in the ACC Coastal Division after knocking off the Yellow Jackets. Despite a tough performance against Miami, the Blue Devils are still just a one-loss team. Their two toughest remaining tests are next week vs Virginia and November 15th against Virginia Tech. Both contests are at home, and the remaining schedule: on the road against Pittsburgh and Syracuse, and home versus North Carolina and Wake Forest all appear to be winnable games. With the Blue Devil defense allowing a paltry 15 points per game, they stand a good chance of being in every game for the rest of the season.

4. Opportunistic defense can be a good thing and a bad thing. Duke allowed nearly 500 yards of total offense to the Yellow Jackets but came up with two very timely interceptions and a fumble early in the second half. Conversely, the Yellow Jacket defense who had been living that way all season long created no turnovers and no sacks.

5. The ACC is once again hard to figure out. With ACC programs seemingly afraid to have too much limelight following the league week to week can be maddening. Georgia Tech just appeared in the polls this week and had some momentum, which in ACC circles means a loss can’t be too far behind, and it came on Saturday. The list of great performances followed by a disappointing loss is rather lengthy in the ACC.